Strong
by Revengeful Desire
Summary: Katniss always has a hard time hiding her emotions, but she's found a way to keep them inside; she has to. She needs to; it's the only way to save Peeta. What happens when he has known all along?


Paste your d

Katniss, covered by only a thin sheet of cloth, sat shivering in the cold, weary cave. She was trying to be strong; knew she needed to be, but it was difficult. She was meant to stay alive, so she could help Peeta win the game. That was her only goal- stay alive until the very end. She had to.

Shivering in the cold, she buried herself deeper into the small blanket. It didn't do much, but it blocked some of the chilly air from reaching her skin. Her hands and toes were freezing; numb and unfeeling.

"You know, if you're cold I can warm you up." Peeta proposed from the other side of the small cave.

"No. I'm okay. I can make it through."

"You're shivering, and I can hear your teeth chattering from over here, Katniss." He said, bluntly.

"I'll be fine. I promise."

"No, you won't. You'll catch a cold, or something worse like hypothermia" A touch of pain entered his voice, and he genuinely sounded concern. A small ache went through her heart at the sound, and she grimaced.

"Peeta, I told you, I'll be fine." She said as she shivered violently.

Gritting her teeth, she attempted to stop the shiver that ran up her spine, but it was of no use. It happened anyway, and Peeta seemed to notice it, because he rose up from his spot by the entrance, where he'd been keeping watch, and moved to stand beside her. His large frame radiated heat. A rage of envy coursed through her veins as she realized that all this time she'd been freezing and he'd been having no problem staying warm. Anger welled up inside her.

"How do you stay so warm?"

She looked up and saw the ghost of his features through the dark gloom. Even in low light, he was beautiful.

"I'm bigger than you. I create more body heat." He paid simply, sliding down the hard stone walls to sit snugly beside her; he expertly wove his arm around her shoulders and pressed her head against his chest. She inhaled his scent. He smelled like nature and the outdoors.

He was so warm! Heat engulfed her icy existence, and caused her cells to become fire. His warmth overwhelmed her; she hated him for it, but she loved him all the same for his impeccable kindness and sincerity. Boys weren't supposed to have those characteristics, but here was the proof sitting right next to her.

"I hate you." She mumbled.

"No, you don't." He said, as he lightly kissed the top of her head. He chuckled slightly, and it vibrated his chest against her ear. The feeling was peculiar.

"How do you know I don't?"

"Because, even though you are one hateful being, Katniss, you have to have some kind of feeling in that heart of yours."

"All feeling dissipated the day I had to grow up."

"That's not true."

"Trust me, Peeta. It is."

"It can't be."

The same pained tone entered his voice again; this time it cracked a little under the pressure of his words.

"Why not? It's perfectly normal to be heartless. You have to be. In this world, you don't survive unless you are. You have to be to survive these games, Peeta. You can't feel any emotion. It's a weakness."

Ignoring her speech, Peeta spoke again; this time a curious tone tinted his voice. "If you're so unfeeling and heartless, then why do you love me?"

"Where did you get that assumption?" She asked defensive. She thought she'd been keeping her feelings hidden! She could swear she had her emotions in check. How did he guess her feelings for him so quickly? How did he figure it out?

"You talk in your sleep."

"So?"

"Katniss, you talk about me in your sleep." his voice was deep and husky; controlled.

Realization dawned on her, and she immediately went red in the face. Peeta had been listening to her nightly talks as he took watch, meaning he'd heard every piece of nonsense that'd flown out of her mouth. Great. Thanking the heavens it was so dark, she buried her head deeper into the folds of Peeta's jacket, and attempted to hide herself from the world, but she knew she couldn't. She had to be strong.

"What else do you know?"

"That you're trying to keep me alive, so I can win this thing. Katniss, you can't do that for me. I have to win on my own. You have to look out for yourself." He said as he looked down to meet her eyes. Even in the dark, they seemed to still acquire the same effect they usually had-turning her insides to mush. She ignored the tiny butterflies in her stomach and focused her attention to the matter at hand.

"I can worry about whoever it is I want. If it's you, then live with it, Peeta! You can't change my mind! We both know you're the one who should live. I'm only a heartless bitch, while you..you're kind and smart and worthy of living. You want to live just as much as I want to save you. You should just give up and let me do what I need to do to let you win. You're not going to stop me." She said, furiously, staring into the dark faint glowing orbs of his eyes, trying to get her point across.

"What about what I want, huh?! What if I want you to live? What about what I think?" He was beginning to get angry, which is very seldom for him. She could feel the shaking of his body, not from cold, but from pure wrath and anger. "What if I want you to live?"

"I don't care what you think."

"Of course you don't! You never do! Nobody does! Well, I want you to know what I think!?" He said, tightening his grip around her shoulders and bringing their faces closer together. She could feel his hot breath against her forehead, and instinctively coiled away from the intimidating figure. This..this monster wasn't Peeta.

"Peeta, calm down..ple-"

"DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT I THINK?" He yelled; his voice loud and reverberating throughout the small space.

"Peet-" She tried rationalizing, but to no avail. Peeta wasn't even trying to listen to a word she was saying.

"I think..you're beautiful. You should be the one to live; to survive. You've worked so hard your whole life. This is your only chance for a break. You need to take it. I promise it's okay. I wasn't built for these games-mentally and physically. You were. I'm pretty sure I wasn't even supposed to make it this far, but because of you, with your help, I managed. I..want you to kill me. Now. Get it over with, so you won't have to do it later."

The air in the cave was silent after he stopped speaking. It was surreal. The only sounds heard were the quiet thumps of their heartbeats and the raspy intake of their breathing. Other than those obvious sounds of life, there was nothing else to indicate that they were currently in a forest full of wild animals. There was absolutely nothing else.

Peeta just stared at her, waiting for her to respond, which she eventually did.

"You expect me to kill you? After all I did to get you this far?" She asked, shocked.

"Yes, obviously."

"You know I can't do it. I don't have the guts."

"Yes, you do, Katniss. I told you were practically born for this kind of game. You have it in you to win. You just have to take the final step, and that is to eliminate me. After that and all you have to do is take on Cain and you're good to go. Come on. You can do it."

His words were so persuasive. He always had a way with them; to manipulate them just the right way to get what he wanted. It was a gift of his. His voice was just so sweet and smooth; perfect.

She wanted to listen to that voice; complete whatever it told her, but she couldn't. It would go against everything she had worked so hard for.

"No. I refuse. You'll have to kill me first."

"Why are you so intent on keeping me alive?"

"Three reasons, actually. One, you're the sweetest kindest guy I've met. Even after all the stuff you've been through and everything your mom put you through, you stayed pure. That's the most beautiful thing I've seen in all my life. Two, you deserve another chance at life. I've already come to the conclusion that if I get out of here alive, my life would be living hell and I'd end up dead anyway, so why not just let you have it and use it to the very best of your ability. And three, I love you. You already knew that one, but I thought repeating it for the sake of clarifying. So you see, I can't kill you. You're too special to me."

She'd never opened up to anybody like that before-not even Gale- and here she was telling the whole country of Panem why she couldn't man up and kill Peeta, when he so willingly offered his life to the palm of her hand. She was such a wuss.

"You're a very complicating character, Katniss Everdeen. Did you know that?" Peeta spoke, smiling through the darkness.

"So are you, Peeta Mellark." She said, leaning back down beside him, curling her body against his to pick up more heat.

"The arena kind of does that to a person."

"Sure does."

"Just so you know, you're adorable when you talk in your sleep."

Then he kisses her softly on the lips, lingering. Even though is constricted her heart painfully, in either pain or happiness, she let him. She was supposed to be the strong one after all.

ocument here...


End file.
